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EspañolELECTORAL DISTRICT OF MUNDINGBURRA
The 'Electoral district of Mundingburra' is a Queensland State Parliament electorate in the city of Townsville, Queensland.
The seat is one of four within the Townsville/Thuringowa urban area in North Queensland. Significant utilities within the Mundingburra electorate are the Townsville Hospital, the Douglas Campus of James Cook University and Stockland Shoppingcentre. Suburbs of the Electorate include; Heatley, Cranbrook, Aitkenvale, Mundingburra, Vincent, Douglas, Annandale, Gulliver, Mysterton, Rosslea, part of Kirwan and Pimlico north of the Ross River.[1][2]
Mundingburra Electorate is bordered by the Burdekin (South), Townsville (North and East) and Thuringowa (West) Electorates.[3] With 28,145 voters, the Electorate has almost exactly the Queensland average[4] however due to neighbouring Electorates being due for redistributions, the boarders of the Mundingburra Electorate will probably change in the upcoming redistribution.[5]
Mundingburra is currently a safe Labor Party seat, held by Hon Lindy Nelson-Carr MP, Minister for Environment and Multiculturalism.
| Contents |
| 1996 By-election |
| General History |
| Results - 2006 election |
| References |
1996 By-election
The electoral district became infamous for the 1996 Mundingburra By-election.[6]
"Mundingbloodyburra" - Graham Richardson, ALP numbers man and political commentator, 1996.
The 1995 election was extremely close and the fate of the Government rested with the seat of Mundingburra, the result was impossible to predict until all postal votes were counted.[7] After ten days of counting the Electoral Commission of Queensland declared that Labor had won the seat by only 16 votes, the closeness of this result has been attributed to the Greens not directing preferences to Labor. Winning this seat gave the Government a thin majority of one.
The election was challenged by the Liberals in the Queensland Supreme Court (sitting as the Court of Disputed Returns), the Court accepted that 39 votes were incorrectly disqualified, (including 22 from service personnel in Rwanda) the seat was declared vacent which triggered a by-election.[8] Ten days later Labor dropped the sitting Parliamentarian (and Minister in the Goss Government) Ken Davies as their endorsed candidate due to legal action the Commonwealth Bank was taking against him which had the potential to bankrupt him. Labor pre-selected new candidate and Townsville Mayor Tony Mooney however Kan Davies didn't go quietly and ran as an independent. Frank Tanti of the Liberals won the election with a 2.8% swing against Labor creating a hung Parliament. The Government fell within a week and Rob Borbidge become Premier of a Minority Government with the support of Gladstone Independent Liz Cunningham.[9]
General History
The 1911 redistribution created the seat of Mundingburra encompassing parts of the former electorates of Herbert and Bowen. In 1949 the Electoral district was moved to Townsville and was subsequently abolished in a 1959 redistribution with most of the district becoming part of the new Townsville South Electorate. Mundingburra was re-created in the 1991 redistribution mostly in its current location.[10]
Former teacher Lindy Nelson-Carr won the seat back for Labor in 1998 contributing towards Labor being able to form a Minority Government under Peter Beattie.[11] Ms. Nelson-Carr was promoted in 2004 to Parliamentary Secretary for North Queensland, her portfolio was expanded in 2005 to include Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Transport and Main Roads. [12]
The Electorate is now a safe Labor Party seat, with Mundingburra going against the State wide trend of a slight swing against Labor at the most recent election, Ms. Nelson-Carr's margin is now 10.54%. In September 2006 Ms. Nelson-Carr was promoted to the Cabinet as Minister for Environment and Multiculturalism.[13]
